Not Social media information and everyday life in Malaysia Sandra Hanchard Submitted in total fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Swinburne Institute for Social Research Swinburne University of Technology 2016 Abstract This thesis sets out to illustrate the significance of social media as networked information utilities in the everyday lives of Malaysian users: affordances of global platforms are interpreted with regard to local cultural contexts. I offer a detailed analysis of social media participation in Malaysia, an important middle income country in Southeast Asia that has been understudied in new media scholarship. This thesis will show that for a significant portion of Malaysian internet users from different socioeconomic and ethnic groups, social media use is an integral part of their daily life. I employed two methods in my thesis. Firstly, I distributed a quota-based questionnaire sampled from a pool of 85,000 Malaysian internet users. Respondents were comprised of 400 Malaysian users, split evenly among Malay, Chinese, Indian and English speakers, with language serving as a proxy for ethnicity. Secondly, I conducted a content analysis of Malaysian Twitter use to understand social media information practices in more detail. Primarily, I set out to contribute to a literature gap on active and passive information practices on social media that serve both functional and recreational needs by Malaysian users, set against social and communication motivations for participation. Networked media, everyday life information seeking (ELIS) and domestication approaches are used to frame information practices on social media. I demonstrate that Malaysians value a range of social networks on social media for useful and trusted everyday information, particularly traditional networks comprised of family and friends. I critique the applicability of a networked individualism perspective to Malaysia as a collectivist society. Nuances in styles of social media participation are reported across Malaysian ethnic groups, with reference to debates about differential practices and social inequality in race and internet studies. My findings suggest significant divides by Malaysian users of higher education attainment in their networking practices with their peers on social media while low-income users prefer traditional media. Drawing from social imaginaries and localisation approaches, I attempt to capture the cultural life of Malaysians as it is expressed through their social media participation. Using social inclusion and internet for development (ICT4D) frameworks, I contend that social media are inclusive because they are valued by a broad spectrum of groups; although social media are not necessarily tools for conferring socioeconomic mobility. Social media participation plays a role in the development of the nation and social cohesion by allowing Malaysians to access independent information from their social networks. ii Acknowledgements I would foremost like to thank my supervisors, Julian Thomas and Vivienne Waller for their constant support and guidance. Their professionalism, integrity, constructive and critical perspectives were ongoing sources of motivation. The Swinburne Institute for Social Research and The ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI), have been highly stimulating research environments and I am grateful to my peers and mentors for their collegiality. In particular, I wish to thank Scott Ewing and Denny Meyer for their assistance. I would like to acknowledge the support of an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA). My research practice benefited greatly from being a participant at the CCI Winter School in 2013, and the Oxford Internet Institute Summer Doctoral Program in 2012. I would like to thank Andrew McRae and Catalina Rembuyan for their proof-reading services.1 In Malaysia, I have enjoyed conversations with scholars at Taylor’s University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Monash University and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. In particular, I owe a debt of gratitude to Andrew Hong Chuang Loo for his friendship and feedback on my research in Malaysia, including guidance on local customs and etiquette. A note of appreciation to Vincent Ko, Tom Hogg, Ankit Bhatnagar and the team at Effective Measure for their help in the administration of my online questionnaire. In Melbourne, thanks to Alan Long and Ruth Johnstone for providing references for my candidacy. My heartfelt appreciation to my dear friends and family for all your love. To my mum, Kalisi, and grandfather, Tevita Holani Langi, thank you for always encouraging us towards study. My late father, Colin Frank Hanchard always backed us with our creative pursuits. Thank you Allan Brumby, Kris and Maurie Walters, and my aunties and uncles for your support. To my sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews: I fully encourage you in your education journeys. Finally, my deepest gratitude to Daniel Walters for his never ending emotional and intellectual support, humour, and perennial disagreement. An investment in a quarrel room is still a tempting idea. 1 The services were restricted to Standards D. Language and illustrations and E. Completeness and consistency of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice (ASEP). iii Declaration This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award to the candidate of any other degree or diploma. To the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made. Sandra Hanchard 2016 iv Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The internet and social media adoption in Malaysia .............................................................. 4 1.2 Race and socioeconomic status in everyday life in Malaysia ............................................... 9 1.3 Thesis outline and chapter summaries ...................................................................................... 11 The 1Malaysia context: Intersecting one nation and three races with the media ........................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Conceptualising everyday life in Malaysia ............................................................................... 18 2.2 The construct of ‘race’ in the social imaginary ....................................................................... 23 2.3 Statecraft in economic and race relations ................................................................................ 28 2.4 The Malaysian media environment and the nation .............................................................. 31 2.5 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................. 36 Methodologies and methods: Distances in reading everyday life ........... 38 3.1 An age of increasing social data .................................................................................................... 39 3.2 A multi-method quantitative approach ..................................................................................... 41 3.3 Theoretical frameworks and longitudinal concepts: usefulness, trust and participation.......................................................................................................................................... 43 3.4 Method I: Online questionnaire .................................................................................................... 47 3.5 Method II: Content analysis of Twitter ...................................................................................... 59 3.6 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................. 65 The social media society ........................................................................................ 68 4.1 Localising the network society in Malaysia ............................................................................. 69 4.2 Social networks and contesting networked individualism ............................................... 71 4.3 The value of social networks and strength of ties ................................................................. 73 4.4 Approaches and methods ................................................................................................................ 75 4.5 Findings I: The foundations of social media use .................................................................... 79 4.6 Findings II: The value of social networks on social media ................................................ 84 4.7 Discussion .............................................................................................................................................. 90 v Platforms as information media ......................................................................... 94 5.1 Network metaphors of new media versus traditional media ........................................... 95 5.2 The architectures and affordances of platforms .................................................................... 97 5.3 Modes of participation: information, communication and social ................................... 99 5.4 Approaches and methods ..............................................................................................................101